Tuesday, July 15, 2014

COFFEE+BLOOD DRAW=BAD IDEA

7/14/14

Hi, My name is Tanisha and I am OBSESSED with coffee. I find myself not paying my bills to afford coffee and sacrificing my health for coffee, sometimes I even dream about coffee. Don't believe me? Well, lets just say that chugging coffee and getting your blood drawn do not mix well...

The day of the blood draw, I woke up tired and sluggish, so obviously I went to Coffee Express for my favorite flavor, Hazelnut (or hazel-butt, if you're my mom). With coffee in hand, I arrived on time to the medical center with a nice little coffee buzz and jittery limbs. The medical assistant led me back to a little room, where about 8 pastel colored vials lay in a pile amongst multiple sized needles. After inspecting my arms, the medical assistant struggled to even find a vein. She finally decided on my left arm and attached the tourniquet. Since I have multiple tattoos, I figured the needle stab wouldn't be that bad, but the fear of the unknown is one of my worst traits. Luckily, the needle stab was just a little pinch. Hypothetically, after the pinch, blood should have started flowing, but when I looked up, the med assistant looked perplexed. She then tried another smaller needle, still no luck.

So lesson learned, an XL ice coffee right before a blood draw will shrivel your veins, and even with a needle in your vein, the blood will stubbornly stay in your body. So away I went to the waiting room, to chug water and re-hydrate my veins. Luckily, the third time was a charm, and they finally were able to draw my blood; however, my poor arm is bruised from all the needle stabs.

So the next step is to send my blood off to the lab, and DKMS should be getting back to me in a week with the results. Hopefully, I still match with the patient, and I am cleared to move on with the next part of this process.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

THE NEXT STEP

7/8/2014

So after filling out my health questionnaire, and answering hilarious questions like:

1. In the past 12 months, have you given money, drugs, or other payment for sex OR have you had sex, even once, with anyone who has taken money, drugs or other payment in exchange for sex in the past 5 years? UMMM..NO??!!

2. FEMALE DONORS ONLY: In the past 12 months, have you had sex with a male who has had sex, even once, with another male in the past 5 years? This one is just laughable...

Seriously now...why are these questions even necessary, all they did was provide me with a good laugh.

My next step is to get my blood drawn, right here in good old Bangaaah, ME. The blood test is to make sure I don't have any diseases and to reaffirm my typing with the patient I've matched. Also for those of you that want to know:
No, I do not know anything about the person I have been matched with, I hope I can possibly meet them, or at the very least get some basic info about him/her.

I also just found out that I only qualify for one donation method. So here is the condensed version of the two procedures
1. one way is super easy and not very painful, as easy as drawing your blood
2. the latter requires general anesthesia and they insert a hollow needle into your back, it requires more recovery time and is fairly painful.

So guess which one I qualify for?? DING DING DING, you got it, option 2. I'm not impressed. Apparently, DKMS is concerned that since I had a concussion in high school, and lost consciousness, they don't want to risk my health. I appreciate their concern, but I don't think anyone is gung ho about hopping up on the operating table.

So here goes nothing, going to get my blood drawn next week.


 P.S. Did I mention I have never had my blood drawn or had surgery....EVER?, yea...kind of freaking out ;)

I'M A MATCH!

7/2/2014

Today started off like any normal day, as always I found myself running late, hair uncombed, and wishing I had stopped for coffee. Even without my usual caffeine buzz, I attempted to muddle through the day. While on my lunch break though, my day got weird. While stuffing my face with a turkey and cheese wrap, I scrolled through all my unread emails. One in particular caught my eye, its tag line said, "You're a match!", at first I thought it was for some dating website, but I quickly reminded myself that,
A) I am a crazy cat and dog lady, and ain't nobody got time for that...
...and...
B) I never signed up for such a website, since my current relationship is 3 and a half years strong.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to open it. I quickly scanned the contents. I had been matched with someone who was suffering from blood cancer and desperately needed bone marrow. Since I am currently enrolled in the Surgical Technology program, helping people and healing them of sickness is pretty close to my heart. At first I froze and allowed the information to sink in. Around me, my classmates chatted and swapped stories of all the surgeries they had completed that day. Without explanation I simply announced, "I'm a match...". My teacher whirled around, bewildered. She immediately barraged me with questions. The moment she found out what I was a match for, I swear she almost cried. She immediately left to call her friend, who volunteers at DKMS after losing her nephew to blood cancer. The rest of my lunch break was a flurry of questions and phone calls as I contacted DKMS to figure out my next step. My teacher even took pictures and videos to put on Facebook. Luckily, I was able to kibosh the video before she pushed "upload". To my mortification, my picture on Facebook began to garnish much attention. People were "liking" it left and right, some even commented saying I was a hero. My biggest regret about this "fame" is that the picture is terrible. I am in my hospital scrubs and look like a sweaty weirdo. Thankfully I vetted pictures before I allowed it to be posted on Facebook. The first picture she took, the sign would have been out shined by my greasy forehead. However, the one she ended up posting is laughable, sorry about that!

However, after time to reflect, I know I am not a hero. I am just a 24 year old woman with a healthy body, BUT if we're being honest it's more like healthy(ish), I could afford to lose a few pounds. The surgery, although painful, is something I am willing to go through, if it means someone can get a life saving donation. Rest assured though, if they tell me I can't eat ice cream, coffee, Geaghan's wings, or beer, I just may quit.

So even though I am not keen on all this attention and lime light, I have begrudgingly agreed to document this journey. It may not be easy or pretty, but I will try to give my honest rendition of my experiences. My hope is that this information will give others an idea of what the donor goes through, and inspire others to "Get Swabbed" and make their own life saving donation.
 If you want to "Get Swabbed", or just brush up on what the heck I'm talking about, go to the DKMS website: https://www.deletebloodcancer.org/